12.08.2016 Rio – 2016 and women: Road to Olympus

The number of female athletes at the Olympic Games in Rio -2016 is almost 45%. Today, women are competing in all disciplines exclusively. However, the entry of women into the Olympic Games has not been easy and quick.

The ancient Greek Olympic Games were held on the highest mountain in Greece, Olympus. Initially the games were only a part of religious celebrations and only men had the right to participate. The presence of women in the audience would not be permissible; only girl children and adolescents were able to watch the games along with the men. If a married woman was discovered among the audience they could throw down her from the mountain as a punishment.

However, even at that period there was a noble woman, who was able to not only participate, but to be recognized as the winner of the Olympic Games. We are talking about Kiniska – Agesialus’s Spartan king’s sister, who was engaged in horse breeding. Horses trained by Kiniska took part in four Olympic tournaments and were the first to reach the finish line, for which she was awarded the title of “olimpionik”.

In 1896, when the modern Olympics started, no women athlete will take part in them. The organizers considered that women’s participation is not practical and not aesthetic can be. But four years later, the next Olympics, women try their hand at tennis and golf. In 1900 only 22 of the 997 athletes participating in the Olympic Games will have been women.

The number of women gradually increased.

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